Gemma is recognised for doing something most property marketers only talk about: turning engagement into a measurable operational asset.
As the driving force behind CERT Life, Gemma has repositioned marketing from a leasing support function into something that directly shapes how buildings are run. CERT Life connects residents and tenants with building management, nearby businesses and each other, delivering real-time updates, maintenance reporting and access to events and local offers. It integrates with property management systems so that resident behaviour and feedback inform daily operational decisions. The result is a platform that improves retention, activates shared spaces and contributes directly to asset value.
At Hilton House in Manchester's Northern Quarter, communal areas now host artist galleries and pop-up businesses. In residential buildings, the same model supports neighbour connections and local services. Gamified engagement initiatives have strengthened these relationships further, creating environments that feel genuinely responsive rather than transactional.
What Gemma has built at CERT is a blueprint the wider industry needs. She has closed the gap between talking about customer experience and actually measuring it, and in doing so, demonstrated what modern property marketing can and should look like.
Deenie is recognised for raising the strategic bar across property marketing and investing in the people who will define its future.
With over 20 years of senior marketing experience, Deenie has built her reputation on a straightforward belief: marketing should be data-led, strategically rigorous and held to the same commercial standards as any other business function. She applies that belief unapologetically, whether advising clients, challenging suppliers or developing the next generation of professionals.
Her track record reflects the scale of that ambition. As part of the team that grew Campus Living Villages' UK portfolio from 1,000 to 16,000 beds, she helped establish it as one of the top five student accommodation brands in the country. In 2020, she co-founded The Property Marketing Strategists alongside Sarah Canning, delivering consultancy, research and training to property businesses across the UK.
As co-host of 'Housed: The Shared Living Podcast' and a regular conference speaker, Deenie continues to push for smarter, more inclusive thinking across the sector. She is one of the loudest and most credible voices in property marketing, and the industry is better for it.
Hannah is recognised for bringing genuine international scale and a restless approach to innovation to property marketing leadership.
As Global Marketing Director at Select Property, Hannah leads teams across the UK, Dubai and Shanghai, managing marketing strategy across multiple markets, brands and investment audiences simultaneously. It is a role that demands both commercial clarity and operational range, and she has become known for delivering both.
Her background gives her a rare depth of perspective. Five years as Marketing Director at Bruntwood sharpened her understanding of complex, multi-site marketing at scale. Before that, she oversaw marketing activity across more than 50 hotels as Area Marketing Manager at Radisson Hotel Group, an experience that built the operational rigour she brings to every role.
Since joining Select Property in 2022, Hannah has established herself as an early and consistent adopter of emerging technology, exploring new tools and approaches to keep marketing strategy ahead of the curve. In a sector that can be slow to embrace change, her approach stands out.
David is recognised for challenging one of property marketing's most ingrained habits, and building a better framework to replace it.
The STAR Marketing Framework, developed by David, dismantles age-based audience segmentation and rebuilds targeting around mindset, behaviour and individual motivation. The result is a methodology that helps residents feel understood rather than categorised, and that delivers measurable commercial outcomes rather than demographic assumptions.
The impact has extended well beyond marketing. STAR research is now embedded across cross-functional planning, customer segmentation and personalised engagement strategies, driving stronger collaboration between marketing, data and research teams and directly supporting bookings and commercial performance. David's ability to translate complex data into clear, actionable thinking has changed how teams approach communication and strategy.
He brings the same rigour to AI adoption, championing practical applications that are strategically sound rather than speculative. His willingness to challenge established norms, backed by the clarity of his thinking, makes him one of the most valuable voices in property marketing today.
Suraiya is recognised for combining strategic marketing leadership with a sustained and practical commitment to equity in the living sector.
As Chief Marketing Officer at Nido for over seven years, Suraiya built deep expertise in Purpose Built Student Accommodation and became one of the most trusted voices in the industry. She now runs her own consultancy, bringing that experience to a wider range of clients and projects.
Alongside her commercial work, Suraiya founded and chairs WinPBSA, an organisation dedicated to advancing gender equality in real estate. Under her leadership, WinPBSA has developed a widely respected mentorship programme that continues to support talent across the sector. Her approach is practical and measurable, and its impact is evident in the conversations and changes taking place across the industry.
A regular presence at GSL and The Class Foundation, Suraiya represents the sector with both strategic authority and a clear point of view on what a more equitable industry should look like. She is shaping its future direction on both fronts.
Rich is recognised for reframing how build-to-rent thinks about digital marketing, and for having the analytical discipline to prove it works.
At Moda, Rich leads digital marketing strategy with a clear and consistent focus: performance over aesthetics, outcomes over impressions, and genuine consumer understanding over instinct. It is an approach that has reshaped how Moda thinks about customer acquisition and set a stronger standard for what digital marketing in the sector should deliver.
His background spans direct marketing, social media and online channels, and a degree in Law from The Open University brings an analytical rigour to his thinking that sets him apart in a sector still finding its digital footing. He is known for pushing into new platforms and approaches while holding the work to a high commercial standard throughout.
Rich is a forward-thinking voice in build-to-rent. At a time when the sector is still developing its digital confidence, his work demonstrates what is possible when marketing is built around real consumer behaviour rather than what looks good on screen.
Neil is recognised for applying original academic research to real operational challenges, and for proving that serious thinking has a place at the commercial table.
As Managing Director of Collegiate UK, Neil has repositioned marketing as a strategic discipline that informs experience design, operational decision-making and investor confidence, not simply a communications function. Brand clarity, differentiation and long-term commercial relevance have all strengthened as a result.
At the centre of his work is original research into Emerging Adulthood, exploring the relationship between human development, the built environment and behaviour. Rather than keeping this as theory, Neil has applied it directly to how student accommodation is conceived, operated and marketed. His research shapes how value is articulated to universities and investors, and how resident experience is designed to support wellbeing and meaningful transition.
He has contributed further through published commentary and speaking engagements on cognition, AI and evolving value chains in property marketing. All of it is grounded in operational accountability, which is precisely why it lands with senior decision-makers. Neil's work is influencing how the living sectors define, communicate and sustain value.
Katherine is recognised for building one of the most commercially grounded and customer-led bodies of work in the later living sector.
With over 25 years in consumer marketing, Katherine has developed a specialism in reaching older audiences in ways that are both effective and genuinely led by their needs. Her eight years at Audley Group as Group Marketing Director, where she oversaw Audley Villages and played a central role in the creation of the Mayfield Villages mid-market brand, established her as a defining voice in retirement living marketing.
At Elysian Residences, she led the commercial launch of The Landsby in Stanmore before progressing to her current role as Chief Customer Officer, where she shapes customer experience and commercial strategy across a growing portfolio of luxury retirement communities.
In late 2025, Katherine co-founded The Downsize Partners with Sebastian de Angelis, a venture focused on improving how later living is understood, positioned and experienced by consumers. It reflects the same commitment that has defined her career: making the case for an audience that the wider property industry too often overlooks.
Nicola is recognised for the rare combination of commercial delivery and genuine place leadership that has defined her career in residential property.
When Nicola joined Scarborough Group International in 2014 as the first employee in their Manchester office, she built a residential sales business from the ground up. A decade later, she sits on the Board and leads strategic marketing across SGI's expanding development portfolio, a progression that reflects the breadth and consistency of her contribution.
Her track record across 23 years in residential sales and marketing includes 13 years at Urban Splash, where she led national residential sales pipelines at scale. At SGI, she has been instrumental in the success of major schemes including Middlewood Locks in Salford and Hatbox in Manchester, where her approach to placemaking extends well beyond sales into active community engagement.
Outside of SGI, Nicola serves on the LandAid Northwest Board, focused on raising awareness of youth homelessness and housing insecurity. Her work across both spheres reflects a consistent conviction: that good places are built through long-term investment in the people who live in them.
Anne Marie is recognised for leading one of the most significant digital firsts in UK housebuilding, and for the commercial strategy that has shaped Miller Homes' growth over more than two decades.
Under Anne Marie's leadership, Miller Homes became the first major UK housebuilder to offer online property reservations, enabling buyers to secure a home and pay a deposit at any time without visiting a sales suite. It was a move that shifted buyer expectations across the sector and set a benchmark others have since followed.
That initiative was part of a broader pattern of digital leadership. Anne Marie has driven the development of the My Miller Home app, a Kitchen Visualiser tool and QR codes on appliances throughout new homes, all built around a clear principle: remove friction from the buying journey and meet customers where they are. The commercial results have supported Miller Homes' growth strategy targeting around 3,000 units per year.
Anne Marie joined Miller Homes in 2001 as Sales Director for Scotland, progressed to Area Sales and Marketing Director and was subsequently appointed to the newly created role of National Sales and Marketing Director, earning a seat on the Miller Homes Board. She is now Group Sales and Marketing Director, and was named Business Leader of the Year at the Scottish Mortgage Awards.
Her career is a case study in how sales and marketing leadership, when joined up and commercially grounded, can drive both customer experience and business performance. In a sector that has often been slow to embrace digital change, Anne Marie moved first and made it work.
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